The Adventurous Simplicissimus · Chapter
XI: Of the Marvellous Thanksgiving of a Patient, and of the Holy Thoughts Thereby Awakened in Simplicissimus explained
Simplicissimus, reflecting on his many life changes and losses, is comforted by overhearing a gout-stricken patient thank God for not giving him more wealth.
What happens
Simplicissimus, reflecting on his many life changes and losses, is comforted by overhearing a gout-stricken patient thank God for not giving him more wealth. This inspires Simplicissimus to renounce worldly desires for honor and gold, and to devote himself to a philosophical and godly life.
Themes in this chapter
Greed and Money
Simplicissimus is tormented by thoughts of squandered wealth, but the patient's gratitude for having little money leads him to renounce greed.
Folly and Wisdom
Simplicissimus resolves to become a philosopher and pursue wisdom, turning away from the folly of chasing honor and gold.
Characters to notice
- Simplicissimus
Reflects on his past transformations and resolves to pursue a godly life after hearing a patient's thanksgiving.
- Ulrich Herzbruder
Mentioned as a friend fate had robbed him of.
- The Hermit
Referred to as his dear departed father, whose piety he seeks to emulate.
Key passages
“because this second patient, in giving thanks to God that He had given him no more wealth, so comforted me that I banished clean out of my mind all vexations and heavy thoughts that had assailed me on the score of money: and I did resolve to strive no more for honour nor gold nor for aught else that the world loveth.”
The patient's gratitude for his limited wealth freed Simplicissimus from his anxieties about money, leading him to abandon the pursuit of honor, gold, and worldly desires.
This moment marks a turning point in Simplicissimus's moral and philosophical outlook.
“I represented to myself how in that very place I had begun to be in place of a free man a slave of love, and how since then I had become from an officer a peasant, from a rich peasant a poor nobleman, from a Simplicissimus a Melchior, from a widower a husband, from a husband a cuckold, and from a cuckold a widower again; moreover, from a peasant’s brat I had proved to be the son of a good soldier, and yet again the son of my old dad.”
Simplicissimus reflects on the many transformations of his identity and fortune, from free man to love's slave, officer to peasant, and through various family roles.
This passage highlights the theme of fortune and fate, as Simplicissimus contemplates the instability of human life.